French Polynesia back on UN decolonisation list

The United Nations has approved former French Polynesian President Oscar Temaru's appeal for the territory to be re-listed for decolonisation.

The UN General Assembly will put French Polynesia back on the UN decolonisation list after it was withdrawn in 1947.

Mr Temaru, now the leader of French Polynesia's opposition Union For Democracy, has denied claims the issue was one of the reasons behind his party's defeat in this month's territorial election.

"The Maori people [are] very happy about that. We can see the end of the tunnel...so we'll have our Steering Committee tomorrow night to decide if the party will support that idea for French Polynesia," Mr Temaru said.

Mr Temaru insists France never consulted the people when it withdrew French Polynesia from the list in 1947.

"We always [asked] for a referendum in our country, but not supervised by the French," he said.

Mr Temaru says the return of French Polynesia to the UN's decolonisation list is not purely symbolic and he plans to participate in the Special Committee on Decolonization conference to be held in Quito, Equador on May 30.

"We never alienated our right to self-determination...so that's the first priority for this country," he said.

Mr Temaru wants to have a referendum on decolonisation in 2018 run by the UN.

He also suggests a public education program on the importance of self-determination for the nation.

"Our role for the moment would be to educate our people [about] the meaning of a country [that is] self-determined."